I Am Royalty Song

[Zacharie Brodhacker]

U.S. copyright laws give exclusive rights to the creators of original works, and no one can use another's copyrighted works without a license. In the music industry, the licensing of copyrights are the basis on which royalty payments are made.

In this case, the songwriter and the performer are the same as Bob Dylan both wrote and recorded the song. But often, multiple songwriters may assist in writing a song, and all have a royalty interest in the use of the composition copyright.

The Pop Song Professor project is all about helping music lovers like you to better understand the deeper meanings of popular song lyrics so that you know what your artist is saying and can enjoy your music more.

Chris Brown's out with his new album Royalty, and one of the songs on that album--my favorite so far--is "Little More (Royalty)." The song's smooth and strong and an enjoyable listen. I'll be honest though: I have rarely ever listened to Chris Brown, and what I have heard of him has been largely negative. Not that being explicit is always bad, but the fact that so many of his songs on this album are explicit concerns me. I've listened to a few others besides "Little More (Royalty)," and there doesn't seem to be a lot of variety on Royalty. His song "Back to Sleep," in a paraphrase of his words, is about "sexing" his girlfriend back to sleep after he comes home from playing a concert.

Combining the vulgar language with (seemingly) not having anything to say, Royalty doesn't excite me. That's why the song "Little More (Royalty)" (hereafter referred to as "Little More") was a nice surprise, if still a little underwhelming.

He continues the verse: "Oh, baby girl, you inspire me, give the reason to keep on / My baby, my Royalty, girl you're the lyrics to my song." If a listener thinks this song is about a women, it sounds like Brown is calling her "royalty," but if the listener is "in the know," it makes even more sense.

Brown continues to sing about how powerful a hold Royalty has on him: "Girl, you got this heart lock on me, I don't think I can control it / I hold on with all my might while you look at me in my eye." And not only does he have to struggle to come to grips with how much he loves her, but his daughter gives him the power to love her better: "Like a vitamin you put back my energy, you're making me stronger and bring out the best of me."

From my perspective, "Little More" is purposefully vague so that it can cater to a wider range of audiences. If you look through the lyrics, you'll find no language that specifically makes it about either a woman or Brown's child. There's not a single word or phrase that would exclude one or the other, and there are many that directly support each.

Thus, for you, "Little More" truly is about whichever you want it to be about. If you like the thought of a rapper singing to his toddler, then it's about Royalty. If you like the thought of a strong, gentle, and beautiful woman, then "Little More" is about spending a "little more" time with her.

Based on the lyrics, it really doesn't seem to matter who it's about, so long as Brown and his record company get the profits. I don't want to be too accusatory, and--who knows?--there may be an explanation, but look at what's happening here. Brown has created a purposefully vague song that appeals to two very different market demographics: those who want a sweet and sentimental song, and those who want the hot passion and romance of a one night stand.

Hi! I'm a university writing center director who teaches literature classes and loves helping others to understand the deeper meanings of their favorite songs. I'm married to my beautiful wife April and love Twenty One Pilots, Mumford & Sons, Kishi Bashi, and so many others!

Franzen said sometimes an artist will enter a deal in which the publisher controls the copyright and in turn makes a deal with a performance-rights organization like the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers or BMI.

Tobi Parks, the owner of a live music venue called xBk in Des Moines, Iowa, and a copyright and entertainment lawyer, said licensing costs are based on either your capacity or a percentage of your revenue.

An ASCAP spokesperson said that for its licenses, the rates can depend on how the music was performed, the size of the establishment and whether admission was charged. Licenses for smaller establishments, like bars and restaurants, generally cost about $2 or $3 per day.

The fee they collect, known as the public-performance royalty, applies to live venues, bars, restaurants, television networks and radio stations, said Benom Plumb, the program director for music industry studies and music management at University of the Pacific.

He recalled that he represented a songwriter who wrote a hit for a well-known artist who played that song every night of a big summer arena tour. He registered the song for each of those performances with ASCAP and input information such as the date it was played, the size of the venue and the admission fee.

Plumb said that on the low end of the spectrum, a $2 to $10 royalty per song is common for smaller venue performances. But in the summer arena tour example, Plumb said he was looking at hundreds of dollars per performance, adding up to around $5,000 for the entire tour.

Parks said she understands that venues need to have licenses, but wonders whether the methodologies that performance-rights organizations are using to calculate royalties is optimal, given that shows have been on hold for so long.

Since then, a new batch has entered the public domain each year. All music, film and literature published in 1924 entered the domain in 2020, and all works from 1925 entered in 2021. That will continue as the years go by.

Why the gap? Previously, published material from 1923 was supposed to enter the public domain in 1999, instead of 2019. But in 1998, Congress passed a bill that extended copyright protections for 20 years.

BMI enters work registrations into its databases from one of two sources, (1) a BMI song registration form (formerly known as a clearance form) provided either electronically or on paper, or (2) a cue sheet which details all music written specifically for a film or television show, or other audio-visual work, typically prepared by the production company.

All songs must be submitted to BMI via a BMI registration form in order to receive credit for certain types of performances (e.g., all radio, commercial music services, commercial jingles and promotional announcements, live pop and classical concerts and Internet). Separate registrations need not be supplied to BMI for individual music cues (dramatic underscore) used in audio-visual programs. These will be automatically registered when the cue sheet is received and processed by BMI. You agree to notify BMI promptly if there are any errors or omissions contained in the registration information for your works or if the information, as it is set forth on the bmi.com website, is in any way inaccurate.

In order for BMI to make payment on time for the public performance of your music, it is imperative that all registrations (both songs and cue sheets) be received as close to the performance date as possible. It is essential that you register all of your works in order that BMI can provide information about your entire catalogue to foreign performing rights organizations, and so that BMI may quickly and easily identify foreign royalties received on your behalf. Late registrations and cue sheets may cause royalties to be delayed and/or lost. It is your ultimate responsibility to make sure that work registrations and cue sheets are delivered to BMI in a timely fashion, even though you may rely upon others to provide them to BMI in the normal course of business. Also, you must affiliate with BMI prior to the time of the performance of your music in order to receive royalties. Late affiliations will cause royalties not to be paid.

BMI accepts for registration works which "sample" other works, provided all parties have agreed to the share percentages on the new work. These shares cannot exceed 200%. (See How Royalities Are Divided.) The percentages must be noted on the BMI registration form for the work and a copy of the sample license agreement must be provided to BMI upon request.

A parody is a satirical imitation of a work. Permission from the owner of the copyright is generally required before commercial exploitation of a parody. BMI will credit the parody based upon the shares authorized by the publisher of the parodied work.

Spoken word material with a musical background will be registered only if the music is original (not based on a Public Domain work) and if a substantial part of the recording contains background music. A recording must be submitted with the registration form.

A BMI publisher may assign a work to another BMI publisher as of the calendar quarter in which BMI receives notice of the assignment. However, BMI will not accept such assignment until all outstanding financial obligations or liabilities to BMI of the assigning publisher are adjusted appropriately.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, an assignment or transfer of control of a catalogue of works from one BMI publisher to another in connection with a sale, merger or otherwise will be subject to all of the terms and conditions of the agreement between BMI and the publisher whose works are sought to be assigned or transferred. For example, BMI will not recognize an assignment of works from one BMI publisher to another if the remainder of the term of the agreement between BMI and the publisher to which the assignment was made is shorter than remainder of the term of the agreement between BMI and the publisher which assigned the works. In such a case, BMI will maintain the assigned works in a special account of and pay any royalty earnings to the publisher to which the works were assigned. At the end of the term of the agreement between BMI and the assigning publisher, BMI will transfer the works to the catalogue of the publisher to whom the assignment was made upon its written request to BMI to do so.

c80f0f1006